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Running Quotes for Bruins vs. Islanders on 3/12

by
Staff Writer
/ Boston Bruins

BOSTON BRUINS POSTGAME QUOTES

BOSTON BRUINS VS NEW YORK ISLANDERSSaturday, March 12, 2016

BOSTON BRUINS HEAD COACH CLAUDE JULIEN POSTGAME AT 3:45PMOn if this was the type of performance he was looking for today…Yeah, I think it was exactly what we were looking for. We knew we were going to get a pretty hungry Islanders team, we knew we were going to get the best of them so it was important for us to be on top of our game right from the drop of the puck there and I thought our first period was extremely good for us and we were able to create the lead and work from there.

On the play of the fourth line lately…Yeah I mean they are getting used to playing with each other. Obviously the three guys hadn’t played much together so it’s coming along and they are doing a great job, I think Noel [Acciari] is doing a great job in our d-zone as far as really being reliable, closing quickly. On the offensive side those other two guys are skating and creating some opportunities there, so I think we have got a good combination so far and I knew tonight was probably going to be one of their biggest tests. The Islanders 4th line is probably arguably one of the best in the league, production wise, and I thought they held their own tonight.

On his decision to stick with Pastrnak even after his early turnovers…There is no difference. I think that one big turnover that obviously we didn’t like was the one in the second period when they were making the line change. The other ones sometimes he’s hanging on to the puck and he’ll turn it over but we don’t want them to be turned over in tough areas and he’s got to get better at that. That’s the thing, when you’re skating like you were tonight, in his case, he was a real threat on offense and he was skating well and things were happening offensively, there was no reason to make those changes. Again, these are my decisions that I make along the way and feel that when they are needed they are done and when they’re not and he’s playing the way he is, he can continue to play.

On seeing the Krejci and Pastrnak combination producing offensively…Yeah I mean that line was good for us tonight. I thought David had one of his better games there in a while, I’m talking about David Krejci, and David Pastrnak like I said right from the get go you could see his feet moving really well. He had good speed tonight and he had their defense on their heels so you know that was a good combination. Loui [Eriksson], he ends up with three points tonight as well, played another smart hockey game.

On what it means to get to .500 at home…Well it’s obviously encouraging but more than that, I think where we were at one point and where we are now means that we have been better than worse at home and we are hoping to be able to establish that going forward here. You would hate to be getting yourselves into a playoff spot and then all of the sudden worried about your home games. So we need to get better here and get better in all the areas. I thought our power play that one that we had, was good tonight and we needed to improve that. So working on those parts of our game and that includes our home ice presence.

On the power play goal by Loui Eriksson…Yeah he was good, he was patient on that, he brought it right to the other side of the net and was able to slide it in. Again, it’s finding ways to score goals on the power play and I’ve said that before, you can control the puck all you want but if you’re not going to create some scoring chance or have great opportunities and you don’t finish and you don’t end up scoring any goals, your power play can only do so much. So you want them to be able to give you a little bit more and tonight they gave us the lead which really helped us.

On the team being able to respond after a bad game and what he owes that to…I think there is a lot that has to do with the veteran core but also as a team we haven’t gone on these big winning streaks like a lot of teams have, whether it’s the Tampa’s or Florida’s or others that have won nine or ten in a row, but we haven’t lost eight or nine in a row either so we have been pretty consistent. You don’t like to lose too many games in a row and I think for the most part we have done a decent job of that. So we have taken a different route I guess than some of those other teams that are up there but it’s worked for us.

On where he sees David Pastrnak’s development…Well he is coming along in the way that you guys are seeing him. I guess I can’t define and say he’s great, he’s poor, whatever, there is definitely areas when you look at his game such as tonight he was really good for us. We all see and people who know the game will also see where there are areas he has to improve and he’s got to get stronger on the puck and not turn them over as much as he does and it’s going to happen in the game but it’s about playing the clock as well, looking where you are. If you are up by one goal in your last few minutes, can’t afford big turnovers, it’s about making the right decision. So it’s about playing the game the proper way at the right time and to me he’s learning that part of it and tonight I thought he was better than he had been some of these other nights there where I had to take some of his ice time away but he’s learning and we are going to stick with him and continue to give him opportunities to get better.

On how important the saves were from Tuukka late in the second period…Well yeah exactly, he keeps us in there and then we are able to create a lead there and that was probably important for our team and Tuukka was solid when he had to be. Again we did a good job in the first of minimizing their shots and in the second period again we got a little loose and gave them some good chances but Tuukka was up to the task there and did a good job.

On Kevin Miller coming back tonight…Yeah absolutely. I thought he was good tonight.

On the upcoming three-game road trip…Well you know we talked about it being a test here a little while ago with the Chicago’s and Washington’s and having to play the two Florida teams, that was a challenge that we took upon ourselves and now we have got this next challenge which is what you just talked about, these 3 games in California are going to be tough games so we are going to take it as a challenge and look forward to facing it.

On the team being better prepared to face the west coast teams compared to last time…We hope so. I think we are playing better but at the same time it’s about not predicting but going out there and showing instead of making predictions. I think it’s up to us to go out there and show that we are ready to play those guys.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD LANDON FERRAROOn the matchup with the Islanders’ fourth line…We just knew we had to be skating. We knew they’re a team that can skate, and that line does a really good job, and you know, and they produce, so just needed to make sure that we were a physical line and trying to keep it out of our end as much as possible.

On feeling good about how his line played…Yeah, I mean we had one shift where we kind of got stuck right at the beginning, but other than that, you know, I thought we handled it pretty well, and we had a couple chances ourselves, so, you know, we were happy with it.

On whether an identity is developing amongst his line…Yeah, I think, you know, we all skate really well and we can make plays well, so it’s been good so far. We just need to make sure that we keep that going, don’t get too comfortable or try, start trying to do too much. We just have to keep it simple and make sure that we get our chances but we get the pucks out.

On being better at home lately and whether there is anything he can point to…No, I think just our team’s maturing, and we’ve made sure that we start well. You know, we’ve had some starts that just weren’t up to par and especially at home, so we’ve made sure that we’re ready right from the start and it’s been good.

On whether they felt they needed to turn their home performance around in the battle for home ice advantage…Definitely. I mean it’s not something that you’re happy about when you’re struggling that much at home. You know, to take that little extra travel out of it come playoff time is huge, so we needed to figure it out and we needed to do it soon so that we could kind of get some momentum going in.

On what the past few games have been like with Noel Acciari…It’s been good. You know, like I was saying, he skates really well, and, you know, [Casey] Cizikas is someone that’s been good on draws, and Noel handled it pretty well tonight. And when you’re starting with the puck it makes your shifts a whole lot easier, so, you know, he’s someone that’s… he’s getting more and more comfortable and he’s starting to make plays and we’re just trying to get around the net as much as we can.

On whether he looks forward to having a lighter schedule in the next week or so…No, I mean, it’s good, especially with our schedule coming up. You know, it’s three heavier teams that, you know, we’ve had some trouble with in the past, so we get that extra rest and make sure that we’re ready come road trip here. You know, it’s important for us.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD DAVID PASTRNAKOn what has been contributing to his success lately…You know I’m just trying to focus on the small details, you know play good in the D and make smart decisions. You know I play with two great guys and really high skills, so just focusing to fill in the line. You know twice they found me and it was easy for me to just put the puck in the net.

On whether it feels good that the coaches have confidence in him and he’s getting more ice time…Yeah definitely it helps with my confidence. Like I said, I’m just trying to focus on getting better. You know it’s a lot of stuff to improve for me you know I’m still young, I’m learning, and how I said trying to learn from the guys like Krech [David Krejci], Bergy [Patrice Bergeron], you know Loui [Eriksson] and the older guys with much experience. And I think with the more experience I can have, the better player I’ll be.

On scoring late in the periods and whether that’s the kind of intensity they need to play with in order to have continued success… Yeah always definitely to help our line get a chance in the end and playoffs. And I think we had a pretty good game, you know we had a lot of opportunities to score even before. So I think we had a good game.

On what he was trying to do on his first goal as David Krejci was circling around with the puck…Yeah so I had a little break there in front of the net you know waiting until Krech [David Krejci] got to the shooting position, then he just made a great pass you know I jumped to the back door and he found me. You know so it was a really nice play by him, and for me I will say it was really easy just to shoot the puck at the net.

On what he was trying to do on his second goal…So I think they were chasing and Loui [Eriksson] just chipped the puck to the zone. You know I tried to shoot the blocker side and it ended up in the net on glove side. So it’s a pretty nice goal. And you know it’s a big win for us, the games are getting to the end and every point is important, and we need to finish strong here.

On whether his confidence is growing as he and David Krejci increase their chemistry…Yeah you know, how I said – I’m going to say that every time – Krech [David Krejci] is an unbelievable player, you know he’s going to find me in every position. For me, it’s just a pleasure to play with those guys, and you know I’m really enjoying and trying to do my best for him. And it’s really hard to tell, I’m just happy I’m in the line.

On how hard it was for him to be injured early in the season and get off to a slow start…Definitely it was a frustrating start, but that’s part of hockey, and now I’m back 100% finally. And all I’m focusing is getting better and getting more experience, and how I said, finish strong here.

BOSTON BRUINS GOALTENDER TUUKKA RASKOn stability with the team’s longest home point streak of the season…Yeah, I think that lately the gap between a bad game and a good game has been tightened up. Obviously we can’t play every game perfect, but we played very solid for the most part and then we’ve been getting points. So that’s where we want to head. We’re going on the road, trying to get the road record going too.

On if it’s tough to stay on toes with slow first period…It’s tough to stay puck focused and ready for that shot. I wasn’t at my sharpest today when they had some shots and luckily we didn’t give them too many. And then in third period I felt more comfortable, made some stops. It’s never easy, but that’s our job as goalies and we’re trying to be as good as we can.

On saves at the end of the second period before the second goal….Yeah, there was an odd man rush and I think whoever the D was there did a very good job of keeping the man on the outside. Pretty good shot for a rebound and luckily the rebound was right in front of me, I was able to scramble in front of the second puck and then we cleared it. So it was just one of those you never really want to get scored on in the last minute, and we have in the past. It’s a good example when you don’t you might get another opportunity, and we did.

On the importance of the team doing better on home ice…It is. I think we just want to be a consistent team on the road and at home. People have been talking about our road games and our road record all year long. We’ve felt that we have to bring that game at home, too, and lately we have. It’s just nothing more than just leave your brains on lounge there, and go out and execute the game plan and don’t overthink it. So that’s been good to see.

On if this type of play will carry on into their upcoming road trip...I hope so. Obviously I’m sure someone’s going to bring it up, but our record against those teams is not the greatest. They’re always tough buildings to play in and tough games to play against, we really have to bring our ‘A game’ in order to get some points out of the trip. It’s one of the most important times of the year and probably one of the biggest trips of the year so we look forward to the challenge.

BOSTON BRUINS DEFENSEMAN ZDENO CHARAOn being on their longest home point streak of the season and finding stability…Well we were better the last few games, but it doesn’t mean we can be satisfied. I mean, we know we’ve been struggling at home, you know, especially the first half of the season, and we’ve been better, but we go on the road and we’ve got to make sure that we follow up on the games we’ve had lately and continue to play that way. I mean, it’s that time of the year that we have 14, 15, 16 games left in the season. You’ve got to find your best game.

On what allows David Pastrnak to get open for passes and score like he has been…Well, he’s playing better away from the puck. I mean, he’s scoring goals. That’s nice. You know, it’s nice to see and it’s rather rewarding, but for sure he’s playing better away from the puck and along the boards and making those plays where, you know, he had to battle for pucks, and, you know, anytime you do that you’re going to get probably some chances.

On seeing the team bounce back from the game against Carolina…Well, we tried. You’re not always going to have great legs. You’re not always going to have a good game. That’s just the way it is. We all knew that, but I thought for 60 minutes I thought today we were a better skating team. You know, we had our legs and you could tell, especially in the first 20. We had, you know, 15 shots, something like that, but we didn’t obviously score on those chances, but that could have been very different after the first 20 if we capitalized on those chances.

On the team having good resiliency all season…Well I thought that early in the season we were, you know, trying to find that kind of bounce back games. They were not always there and we were kind of looking for, you know, what kind of team we were going to be and how we were going to be handling those situations, and I thought that this season is moving forward. I think that we’ve been challenged so many times with so many ups and downs that it seems like we are finding that way to battle through tight games and playing tough opponents and keeping the game, you know, waiting for other teams to break.

On how they will approach the games on the road trip and whether they are in a better position to face those opponents…Yeah, I mean, anytime you go for a longer road trip and playing west coast teams you’re going to be challenged, and we know that they have really good teams and playing on top of their divisions, so it’s going to be tough. You know, we’ve got to bring our best games and take one game at a time, and, you know, anytime we do that we usually play a good game so same way.

On the team playing well after the trade deadline…I’m sure there’s a reason behind it. You want to keep getting points. You want to keep climbing up, but I think the main thing was that the focus was not and still is not necessarily how many points we’re going to have at the end of the night but what the performance is going to be like, how we’re going to be improving our game and really focusing on our effort and plays like away from the puck, you know, along the boards, you know, winning the battles, races and so on, and that’s been the main focus for us.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD LOUI ERIKSSONOn the having more room than usual in the Power Play goal…Yeah, I saw that I had some room there and I was able to walk around in there. So it was nice to see that I had a lot of room, like I said, and I was able to put it in.

On how the team has tried a similar move to this power play goal but usually doesn’t have enough room…Usually there’s a guy standing there to take away that two on one. Today, I don’t know what happened there. I just had a lot of room and I was able to take it in. So it was nice.

On his line…I think we felt pretty good in our line today, and we just stuck with it even though we got scored on there in the second. Other than that, I thought we had a pretty good game. It was nice, Krech [David Krejci] made a great ply there to Pasta [David Pastrnak] for the second goal. And Pasta was flying today, so it was good to see.

On if the potential for home-ice advantage is highlighting the need to “figure things out at home”…Yeah, it’s always an advantage when you can play in front of your fans at home. Obviously we haven’t been the best at home this season, but we still can still improve on that. We definitely want to be playing for that spot and hopefully we can get it.

On if the team is feeling more confident in their recent games…I think so. It’s always nice to play, like I said, in front of your crowd. And of course we’ve been having some tough games, especially in the beginning of the season, but I think lately we’ve been playing better and winning some games, too. So we have to just keep doing that.

On what he did on David Pastrnak’s last goal…Yeah, I just saw the puck get turned over there and I was just trying to bank it quick, forward on the on the boards, and he came in flying there. Good shot.

On what it’s like playing with David Pastrnak…He’s got a lot of speed, so when he uses that he’s really dangerous coming in. It’s tough to defend a guy like him if he uses his speed. He’s pretty dangerous in front of the net too.

On if there’s a “revenge factor” for the upcoming road trip…Yeah, it’s definitely on our mind and it’s definitely going to be a tough road trip coming up here. We know they’re good teams, but at the same time we’ve been pretty good on the road this year. We’ll bring our A game and try to get the win. We get started against San Jose on Tuesday so everyone’s looking forward to that one.

On if the team feels like they have something to prove on this upcoming road trip…Yeah, like I said they had some really good games when they played in this building, so we definitely want to redeem ourselves and play good, and definitely have a better game than when we played them last.

BOSTON BRUINS DEFENSEMAN KEVAN MILLEROn it being his first game back from his injury and whether he was back in the swing of things…Tried to. It was nice to get the first one under your belt and kind of go from there, but felt pretty good tonight.

On how challenging it is to defend the John Tavares line…They’re a good line, they do a lot of scoring, so it was a tough job tonight for sure, but I think we did a pretty good job with them.

On how it felt to be back from his injury…Yeah it’s the first game back, you want to keep things simple, and you know move the puck quick, and kind of move your feet – get your feet underneath you. So first period things were moving quick, but then after that it kind of settled down.

On whether he knew he was going to play today…Yeah, yeah. I felt pretty good. Woke up this morning, everything was fine and felt pretty good.

On feeling fortunate that it was only three games…Yeah, absolutely. That was a bit of a scare, and they happen, but things progressed pretty well and I’m feeling good now.

On whether he’s happy to see the home wins start to string together…That’s big for us. You know it’s the right time and things need to kind of head toward that direction. I think we’ve put a pretty good emphasis on it you know the last 10 games or whatever it may be. And things are kind of moving in the right direction for sure.

On whether he thinks there a correlation between the wins and getting past the trade deadline [picking up new players and keeping Loui Eriksson]…Yeah I think it helps. You know obviously [Lee] Stempniak stepped right in there, he’s done a great job, same with Johnny [Liles], he’s done a great job. So I think you know when new guys come in, everybody feels comfortable with them, that obviously helps the team.

On facing some tough teams in this upcoming West Coast trip and whether it feels like they have something to prove…Yeah you know they came in here and beat us pretty good in our own barn, so I think it’s something we want to put emphasis on and make sure we’re ready to go for the California trip. They’re good teams out there and we need to make sure we bring our game.

On how Tuukka Rask played tonight…Tuukk’s [Tuukka Rask] has been great, he’s great again tonight, and you know he makes those saves that we really need at key times.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD MATT BELESKEYOn winning at home…Yeah it’s good. We want to get wins definitely coming down the stretch at home, some wins for fans. And I think that was pretty exciting, a fun game to watch and two points is exactly what we needed.

On if he feels they corrected the mistakes they made on home ice…I think we played pretty well at home and on the road recently. We tightened it up defensively through our neutral zone and it’s something we focused on. It’s good to see it pan out.

On being first place in the division…I think we have to take it one game at a time. Same as today, you know. You have to worry about those two points and I think if we played that style of game we played tonight we’re going to have a very good chance to win every night.

On if he feels like they have to prove something playing the California teams because they didn’t play well when they faced them earlier…Yeah for sure. Any time you get beat by teams like we did those three California teams it’s going to be some games that we want to get a little revenge and payback. And hopefully we’re ready for that challenge.

On if it will be special to go back to Anaheim…Yeah it’ll be fun. Fun to get back and play in that rink - it’s always been a fun rink for me. And I’m looking forward to it.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS HEAD COACH JACK CAPUANO On today’s loss….It’s tough. Same play in Toronto. Going to have to learn in this league that if don’t manage the puck and you want to give up on forced error, you’re not going to win. End of story. Same thing in Toronto.

On the first period…Yeah, a little sluggish. Little sluggish in the first, but I thought we rebounded real good in the second. And then even in the third, I don’t know if we gave up that many scoring chances, maybe one or two to those guys, against a really good team. So we’re good. Just these games are going to be real close, and you’ve got to manage the puck.

On if his team had to change anything because of The Bruin’s aggressive style on defense…..We changed a little bit, you know, after the first. Little bit of structure. But I thought our guys did a good job as far as that went. Didn’t score many goals tonight, but a couple big saves. Johnny [Johnny Boychuk] got the shot off the pads there and then they come down and they score. So it can happen quick. But again, we had the puck on our stick. Was hoping we could have gotten out of that period tied.

On if he liked his team’s response in the second period…I like the way that we played honestly. I thought struggled on the back end tonight, there’s no question.

On John Tavares’ 200th career goal in the back of the net…Yeah, that’s what he does. If you go back and look at all the goals he’s scored, we use the back of the net a lot. He mirrored the puck. And it’s a great shot over [Tuukka] Rask. So too bad we couldn’t get the W. It’s a game for him to remember, no question. He’s going to score many more.

On what he Johnny Boychuk brings to the team…I think the big thing is his leadership. We talk about when you get guys that have come from a winning organization I think you get the character, you get the leadership, and I think that’s what he brings.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS DEFENSEMAN JOHNNY BOYCHUKOn if was frustrating to not finish the second period strong and give up a goal…Well, it would be nice, but I mean, still, it was a two-one game. [We] should be able to come out in the third period and get something going.

On the Islanders playing a lot of one-goal games lately and having first periods like today’s…Yeah, it was a little bit flat, but the last couple games we’ve responded well in the second period, and I thought we played a little bit better in the second, but still gave up another goal, and eventually, it was the game winner.

On if it’s still special to come back and play in Boston…Oh yeah, definitely, to see the guys that you played with for a long time. It’s always good to see their faces. Even yours.

On if there was any change in the game plan today…Nope. No, there wasn’t. We’ve been playing well the last couple games, and yeah. Didn’t change anything. Well, we had to show up though.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS FORWARD JOHN TAVARESOn the Islanders struggling in their own end…Yeah, we weren’t very good at getting out of our own end tonight, especially in the first two periods, and you’ve got to spend energy defending, and you’re not able to get your forecheck or your pace of your game going. You know, we obviously were able to be in the game, and obviously it proved the goal at the end of the second period hurt us, but we had some chances in the third, and probably had our best period then. We just weren’t able to find a way to get one in.

On scoring the 200th goal of his NHL career…I don’t really think about it, really at all. So, I didn’t really have any idea until maybe a couple days ago, found out I was one away. So, you know, it’s 200, and hopefully I can get another couple hundred. So it’s just, [I’m] more focused on [the] disappointment of the game today.

On the Bruins’ late second period goal hurting the Isles heading into the third…Yeah, I mean, it obviously can be a little frustrating when you’re tied and you feel pretty good about yourself, especially [since] we didn’t play our best, being one-one going into the third on the road. But you’re still within only a shot, and we had a few chances, and had a tough break on an icing that led to their third goal. So it just didn’t seem things were coming easy today, and we were working. Third period, we started to finally find some rhythm, line after line, and you’re playing catch-up all night, it can take a lot out of you. It’s hard to win that way.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS GOALTENDER THOMAS GREISS On what he saw in today’s game from his perspective…A good team that played hard. Didn’t give up much and created a couple of chances on the other end. Didn’t play bad, but unluckily, didn’t come up with the win there.

On what stuck out to him about the Bruins in this game…It’s hard to say. From my perspective, they created a couple of opportunities. They were going hard to the net. Just shooting the puck and trying hard, we created too much in the beginning then had to play a little catch up at the end there.

On how he felt about his game today…Not bad, was pretty good until the third goal there. I wasn’t happy with that one, but overall was pretty good.

On if he felt good about his save on Matt Beleskey early on…For sure, it’s always nice to get in the game quick and get a couple of pucks. Feel the puck and come up with a nice save.

BOSTON BRUINS HEAD COACH CLAUDE JULIEN PREGAME AT 11:50 AMOn if Kevan Miller is available…He’ll be in the warm-up, so we’ll make that final decision afterwards, but he’s looking much better today.

On how important it is for the Bruins to make a statement before their road trip…Well, I think, I don’t know, I always don’t like those words, statements and stuff. It’s more about, just go out there and play. Play your game, and be the team that you want to be, with consistency on every night, and I don’t know about having to make statements, and that kind of stuff. But you know, you’d like to be a little bit better than you were the other night. I found our team to be probably a little slow there. We seemed to have heavy legs, but hopefully that’s not an issue here today against a pretty good Islanders team.

On what two points could mean to the team’s confidence…Well I hope we have enough confidence already, I think it’s just about finishing off well here before we go on one of those road trips that is going to require a lot from us, three big teams and hard teams to play against. So you want to get as many points as you can, and leaving home here with a win would be nice.

On everyone in the league being in sprint mode…Well I think, yeah, everyone’s trying to establish, I guess, their position here, and for us, number one is, you want to make the playoffs, and the most dangerous thing ever would be if you thought you were okay at this point. A lot of things can happen, so that’s the number one thing. In order to solidify that, you’ve got to play well. Number two is, you want to have some consistency in your game. If you’re going to be in the playoffs, you want to be able to play consistently night after night, because that’s what you’ll need. So, there’s a lot of things you can work on, and get better at. You just have to look at our team. Our special teams, I’d like to see improve here in this last stretch and then get better. More goals on the power play, less goals against on the PK, those are things we can be better at, and we have been better at. So, it’s about finding that groove again.

On Lee Stempniak adjusting to playing alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand…Lee’s been around the league for quite a while, and his game itself is pretty consistent, and he’s a pretty smart player. He adapts very easily, so I wasn’t surprised to see how well he fit in. When you watch him play, it’s almost an automatic that he’d be a good fit on that line. So, one of the reasons we went and got him, we thought he’d be a good fit there.